1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a mechanic's creeper as conventionally used in maintenance of vehicles, and more particularly, to a creeper which can be folded for storage in small storage areas such as a mechanic's tool chest or a vehicle storage area.
2. Description of the Related Art
Creeper devices basically consist of a low-slung rectangular body-supporting platform with casters. Such devices have long been popular among automobile mechanics to allow them easy access to the underside of an automobile. Since creepers are conventionally used in garages where strength and wear resistance are required, creepers have conventionally been sturdy, heavy, and expensive devices. A major draw-back to such creepers is that they can not be secured, for example, inside a conventional mechanic's tool box. A creeper which is left unattended for days or weeks may disappear. Such tool boxes are conventionally provided with drawers of 5 inches in depth and 8 inches in depth. There is thus a need for a sturdy mechanic's creeper which can be made to fit inside a conventional mechanic's tool chest.
Due to their large size and expense, creepers have not been widely used outside of garages. There are, however, a number of uses to which creepers could be put if the creepers did not require so much space.
For example, long-distance truckers are required to make pre-trip and daily visual undercarriage inspections of the brakes and electrical systems of their vehicles. However, it is difficult to slide underneath a truck, particularly a truck which is provided with an aerodynamic skirt. Further, the tarmac of truck parking areas is frequently oily and dirty. A creeper would be a great asset to a trucker, but creepers are difficult to carry along in a truck.
There are other potential uses for creepers by noncommercial persons such as homeowners. For example, it would be desirable to provide more comfortable access to confined low spaces when doing plumbing, home repair, and a multitude of other homeowner tasks which require awkward positioning of the body. Further, backyard mechanics and owners of recreational vehicles require access to the undercarriage of automobiles or recreational vehicles when changing oil or transmission fluid, or inspecting brakes or mechanical components. However, homeowners and recreational vehicle operators have limited space to store tools. Thus, homeowners rarely have mechanic's creepers, and such operations are conventionally carried out by the home mechanic simply crawling under a vehicle while lying on his back. This can lead to oil, grease and dirt on the clothes, which dirt and grease can be transmitted to the home or recreational vehicle if the operator does not have time to change clothes.
Another concern of the homeowner is the ease with which the tool can be used. Tools which are not intuitively easy to use are frequently not purchased or, if purchased, are not used. Other concerns include the cost and aesthetic appearance of the tool.
With the above in mind, various attempts have been made over time to provide a foldable creeper which meets the need of the homeowner, the backyard mechanic, and the recreational vehicle operator.
One approach to addressing the problem of limited space which homeowners and recreational vehicle owners have to store tools is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,352 (Chamberlain). Chamberlain teaches a hard foldable creeper comprising two plastic panels hinged to each other. Although the Chamberlain creeper is foldable, the plastic panels are not sufficiently sturdy to bear up to continuous daily use such as by commercial mechanics. Further, the plastic panels are basically hollow, and will not provide sufficient strength for anchoring castors or wheels. Furthermore, due to the design of the hinging mechanism, the creeper can not be folded with the casters left in their bosses. For folding, it is necessary to remove the casters from their respective bosses, and these casters must be stored. This is an inconvenience to the user, increases the wear of the caster sockets, and furthermore allows for the possibility that the casters can become misplaced. One lost caster renders the creeper useless. Finally, as the creeper is not padded, it can not be comfortably used for long periods of time.
Another foldable creeper is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,799 (Quinonez). Quinonez teaches a foldable creeper with a collapsible seat. However, although the length of the creeper is reduced, the creeper is very thick and bulky when folded and, therefore, is difficult to store within the limited storage space available to a homeowner either in the home or in a vehicle. Furthermore, the casters always face outwards when the creeper is folded. Therefore, if the creeper casters come into contact with grease or dirt, which is likely due to the environment of use, there exists the potential of transmitting dirt and/or grease from the ground to the casters and from the casters to the area in which the creeper will be stored. This is severely limiting to a homeowner who often stores items of this sort in their clean home or vehicle. This creeper is also not padded.
Yet another foldable creeper is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,984,116 (Bowers). The creeper comprises a tri-sectional panel and a telescopic supporting rail section attached to one of the three panels, such that when the panels are unfolded the rail can be extended to provide a backbone for supporting the panels. This creeper is bulky in its folded state which makes it difficult to store in small spaces. The tri-section construction also raises the manufacturing costs of the creeper which will, in turn, raise the price with which the creeper is sold. Furthermore, the casters are constrained to facing outwards in the creeper's folded state and this raises the possibility of transmitting dirt or grease. Finally, the creeper is flat and hard and not comfortable.
Given the public's need to utilize creepers for a variety of tasks requiring awkward positioning of the body, it is an object of the present invention to provide a creeper that is compact, affordable, easy to use, and attenuates the amount of dirt that is transferred from the used creeper to a storage area.